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Friday, January 27, 2017

Bearing Witness to the Times: When Hope Is Set in Stone

Some
of my writer friends and I have been talking – especially the poets among us. What
can we do during these uncertain times? We see before us (and among us) division and discordmagnified by the nature of our political system.

The
best thing that poets can do is to bear witness to the times – articulate what
is happening in the moment;speak to the
real life experiences of your people. I
am setting myself a goal to write a poem each week that reflects what I see and
experience in the life of our nation. I may not post a poem each week, but if I
can write one poem a week there will be some chronicle of our
sacred/tested/doubtful union.

I
hope my efforts will not be polemical, but will rather be a true expression of what is. My goal will be to speak to our experiences of what we see and feel in our community and national life.Hopefully that poetic
chronicle will depict the joys, sorrows, celebrations and uncertainties that
come forth in our common struggle for a more perfect union.

Today
I begin by sharing a poem I wrote last Friday on inauguration day: